The Beginning of Infinity

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Universal System

A system that is capable of representing all states.

The first universal system we know of was DNA. We still don't understand its universal nature, but with it you can encode a chicken or a T-Rex.

Both brains and computers are universal systems.

Examples of none-universal systems:

  • Hieroglyphics
  • Tally systems (tallying is universal only if digital)
  • Roman numerals

Examples of universal systems:

  • Indian numeric system (0-9)
  • Alphabet
  • DNA (ATGC)
  • Computers (binary)

See also:

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Jump to Universality

The tendency of gradually improving systems to undergo a sudden large increase in functionality, becoming universal in some domain. The first Universal System we know of was DNA. All organisms on earth are encoded with the same alphabet of DNA bases, just using different combinations.

Universal Computation

Anything that can be written down as a program can be computed given the right memory and enough time. Explanations are a form of information, and information can only be processed in basically one way—with computation of the kind invented by Babbage and Turing.

Universality

Representation of every possible state. See also: